Facade of Cave XXIII, Ajanta

Photograph of the facade of Cave 23, at Ajanta. The thirty magnificent cave temples of Ajanta are situated in a horse-shoe valley of the Waghora river in West India and consist of prayer halls (chaityas) and monasteries (viharas), built for the Buddhist community who lived there. The first group was excavated between the 2nd - 1st century BC. After a period of more than six centuries, the excavations restarted around the 5th century AD in the Vakataka period. Cave 23 is a monastery dated from the late 5th century. The pillared verandah has richly ornamented columns and side shrines.